Middletown hires new city attorney

Published 12:00 am, Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Brian Smith, left, sits next to Dan Drew's Chief of Staff Joe Samolis at the Common Council meeting in Middletown Monday while the council members debate whether to approve him.

Brian Smith, left, sits next to Dan Drew's Chief of Staff Joe Samolis at the Common Council meeting in Middletown Monday while the council members debate whether to approve him.

Middletown hires new city attorney

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MIDDLETOWN >> Mayor Dan Drew's choice for city attorney was confirmed after rigorous questioning by the Common Council.

The council voted 11-1 to confirm Brigham C. Smith, who is now the city attorney for Lansing, Mich. Smith will fill a long-vacant position, temporarily held by acting city attorney Tim Lynch. The city hopes to spend less on outside counsel.

"It feels like I'm home. It feels like home to me and my son. It's good to be made official," Smith said after the vote.

In the course of fielding questions from council members, Smith said his true love is litigation, but he practiced real estate law and transactions as his bread and butter.

Councilman Thomas Serra asked Smith about the extent of his knowledge of the city's legal needs.

"There are two major needs: labor and litigation...It should be done in house," Smith answered.

"You need to have a robust presence in house or else you're going to be spending money you shouldn't be spending," he added.

Serra also reminded Smith of a city ordinance requiring a residency requirement for the position.

Smith said he is looking for a place to live in town.

"I love it here. I go places with my son...there's just so much that we love here" Smith said.

Smith's ex-wife moved back to Connecticut after they divorced. Smith has been commuting from Lansing to see his son and decided to move to the state.

Smith graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School and has served as Lansing's chief counsel since 2005. He also worked as a White House counsel in 1998 and as a partner for a Michigan private practice. He is also a professor of law at Michigan State University.

Councilman Phil Pessina noted that Smith's resume and credentials were impressive and presented him with a "hard question."

"Tell me your weakness," he asked.

Smith said that his weakness was his inexperience with Connecticut law.

"I'm a quick study, I will pick it up quickly," he said.

The council has had just five days to consider Smith's appointment, as it was was brought forward by Drew just last week.

Ex-mayor Sebastian Giuliano, speaking from the audience, said council should take more time to vet Smith, and and not rush into anything since Smith isn't going to start until January. Giuliano was a candidate for the position.

"More questions will come up. The public will have questions," Giuliano said after the meeting.